Searing Hot Beneath The Skin
by PleasantValleySunday
Summary: Nobody figured Stevie Rogers would be the type of girl to have tattoos.


It's 1940 when Stevie gets her first tattoo. She's sitting in the dusty parlor with her shirt pulled off, as a woman sketches train tracks into her skin. Bucky is sitting across from her, flashing a thumbs up as Jareth illustrates a similar scene onto his back. She's gritting her teeth, and her fists are clenching in her lap, but she's determined to go through with this because it's for Bucky.

It had been Bucky's idea to get matching tattoos, and it had been Bucky who had come up with the idea for train tracks. Stevie had been the one to draw it out in her notebook, taking her time to make sure every edge and every curve was perfect.

"What did you want it to read again?" The woman asks for the fifth time, and Stevie has to resist the urge to slap her because she asked the same question just five minutes ago.

"I'm with you till the end of the line," Stevie speaks through gritted teeth, and she can feel the needle sinking into her skin again, the burning sensation not as bad as before.

(A few years later, after Bucky falls from the train, Stevie looks at the tattoo and cries herself to sleep.)

xx

She gets her second tattoo almost a day after she gets the super serum. Peggy sits with her while Howard's assistant- Sammy, she thinks his name is, works on her side. She's getting a grenade right above her hip, _'Is this a test?' _written under it.

Peggy believes it's a tribute to Doctor Erskine. Stevie doesn't really know what it means to her, but it feels right, so she just nods and watches Sammy's hands.

xx

She acquires a few more before she crashes the plane. There's a small violin on the back of her shoulder for Jacques, who had taught her how to play during their free time. After a tough mission in the Alps, Captain America and the Howling Commandos play a nice game of strip poker (Bucky wins, but Stevie will deny that until the day she dies) while stuck in a rundown hotel. Stevie goes and gets a set of poker cards on her thigh as soon as they get back to base, and Bucky laughs when he sees them.

The last one she gets is right after Bucky dies. She remembers when he had worked extra hours at the docks during the winter, just so he could have enough money to take her to see 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'.

_"Oh, it's adorable! Just like a doll's house."_ Bucky would say that to her when he could, no matter if people were watching them, and it had always been able to cheer her up.

Stevie goes to get the words tattooed along her arm alone.

xx

When Stevie wakes up in the 21st century, her tattoos haven't even begun to fade. No one knows about them, and Stevie's okay with that. She's always wearing her suit when she's at SHIELD, and she wears pants and long sleeves when she leaves her apartment. None of the agents at SHIELD are close enough with her to visit her at home, so Stevie opts for walking around in the tank tops and shorts she purchased when she's in her small apartment.

Stevie considered showing them to Phil, who had become a big brother figure in her life. She never got the chance, since Loki 'killed' him.

She goes to get a specialized version of the SHIELD symbol right after Loki and Thor leave for Asgard.

xx

She gets tattoos to symbolize each of her teammates. She has the arc reactor in the middle of her chest, bright blue and sometimes at night she thinks it's actually glowing. Mjolnir is located on the small of her back, surrounded by lightning. For Natasha, she gets a black widow spider wearing Natasha's uniform, right next to a small bird dressed as Hawkeye. It's based off a little drawing she did during movie night, with Natasha and Clint peering over her shoulder to watch.

It takes her a while to figure out what she wants to get for Bruce. She considers something science-y, but that idea is quickly disposed of. She thinks back to when Bruce had invited her to watch 'Doctor Who' with him, and how happy he had looked during the marathon.

In the end, she draws the TARDIS, and includes Bruce dressed as the Doctor. It takes up the thigh opposite of her poker cards.

xx

Stevie doesn't really trust her suite at Avengers tower. Tony most likely has camera's everywhere, so she stops wearing the shorts and tank tops. The only acknowledgement she receives is a raised eyebrow from Natasha, which is enough to send shivers down her spine.

They're on a mission in Alaska when the team finds out about her tattoos. Stevie, Natasha, and Thor are stuck on the ground, striking down every alien that approaches them.

The battle is right next to a chemical lab, so when the Hulk is unleashed, they should've expected an acid spill. Stevie's trying to avoid it the best she can, but the leg of her suit catches fire, and she's forced to pull it off as quick as she can. She's left in only the boy shorts and sports bra she always wore under the suit, while the red, white, and blue get-up quickly burns away in front of her.

She can feel them staring at her, and she just wants to run, but she doesn't. Stevie stays were she is until Tony is able to fly over and pick her up, setting her down near the quinjet. The fight is over, so he's able to take off his Iron Man suit and hands her the shirt he was wearing underneath.

Stevie's grateful, but she chooses not to speak. The ride back to New York is awkward, with Stevie squirming around in her seat, pulling at the edges of the shirt and wishing it was big enough to cover every inch of her.

xx

It's two in the morning when the team approaches her. She's in the middle of 'The Shining', so when Natasha suddenly appears behind her, Stevie can't help it when the popcorn bowl that had been in her hands goes flying towards Clint's face. There's popcorn in his hair and scattered all over the floor, and when she attempts to move so she can clean it up, Tony pushes her down and tells one of his robots to clean it up.

Their sleeves are rolled up, and Stevie can make out the red, white, and blue of her shield. Bruce doesn't have a tattoo, but he moves to show her the Captain America patch on his jacket.

"We wanted to have something that symbolized you on us at all times." Natasha said, before relaxing into the couch and tangling her feet with Stevie. The others arrange themselves around the living room, and they watch awesome horror movies all night.

It's nice, and for once, Stevie feels like she belongs.

**A/N**

**So, this can also be found on my alternative AO3 account, StuckOnStucky. **


End file.
